Packaging containers with an opening that can be pulled 10 have been around for a long time. Swiss patent 427637, registered in 1964, describes a tetrahedron container made from layered material with an opening that is sealed with a pull tab connected to the outside layer of the container.
Swiss patent 636314 features a drink container made of multiple layers of composite material, in which one of the container walls has a pre-punched hole that goes through to the inner layer. The hole is covered with a closure strip that is connected to the inner layer in the closure area.
By pulling on the closure strip, the inner layer is pulled in the area of the closure and this creates a pocket opening for a straw. Both of the above-described drink containers have the same disadvantage, that many users simply let the pull tab fall after pulling on it. This is, of course, undesirable.
A solution for the problem of the improperly discarded pull tabs that were torn off was found with the object described in European patent registration 600502. In a standing container, a puncture opening is stamped through all the layers of the container wall and on the inner side of the container wall there is a closure film attached to the puncture opening, through which the puncture opening is exposed to the outside. This solution is beset with several disadvantages. It is not always easy to stick a straw through the closure film. In order to minimize this disadvantage, one is forced to taper the straw by sharpening it, which then results in an increased risk of injury to the person. In addition, puncturing through the closure film involves the risk of unwanted puncturing of the container wall on the other side of the puncture opening, especially when the puncture opening is located in the area of the upper edge of the standing container, since the front and back walls are relatively close to each other. Finally, the exposed puncture opening is hygienically questionable; impurities and/or bacteria could collect there, which could get in when the straw is stuck into the inside of the container.
A need exists for an improved pull tab label and an improved pull tab label and pouch combination, wherein the pull tab label is not integrated as part of the pouch.